The present invention relates generally to cartons, and more particularly, to a stackable carton for storing, shipping, and dispensing loose-packed food-stuffs which are typically sealed in plastic bags.
Numerous foldable cartons are known in the art. One such typical carton is U.S. Pat. No. 5,718,337 entitled xe2x80x9cCarton for Plastic Bags,xe2x80x9d issued to Carr et al. This carton may be folded from a single piece of cardboard where the needed flaps and fold lines are pre-pressed into the cardboard. The carton is of a rectangular design and features windows in both short sides of the carton. The carton further includes stacking ledges along a portion of the upper edges of the long sides of the carton. The stacking ledges are intended to allow multiple cartons to be stacked vertically one on top of the other. Although, generally suitable for use as a shipping carton, this design has certain drawbacks. Namely, the walls of the carton are straight. Thus, a series of cartons may be stacked vertically only so long as the walls of each carton remain straight and thereby provide support for the cartons stacked on top of them. Unfortunately, the walls of cardboard cartons rarely remain straight. The walls have a tendency to bow outwardly with use. Typically, this happens with the ordinary handling associated with the shipment of bulk goods. In addition, high humidity, a condition often found in the holds of ships and in railway flat cars and the beds of enclosed trucks will tend to warp or otherwise cause the walls of the carton to deviate from their original straight construction. A further drawback of this carton is that the stacking ledges are relatively small and provide only minimal support for each succeeding carton in a vertical stack.
Another typical carton is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,979,250 entitled xe2x80x9cCartons,xe2x80x9d issued to Hobbs. Similar to the carton discussed above, this carton may be made by folding a single piece of cardboard along fold lines pre-pressed into the cardboard. This carton over comes some of the disadvantages mentioned above in that the carton provides a recessed bottom designed to nestably receive the upper few inches of each similar carton stacked above it. Although probably effective as a shipping container, this carton also has certain drawbacks. One drawback of this carton, and of nested cartons in general, is that when the cartons are heavily loaded, the weight of each carton makes it difficult to remove the top carton in a vertical stack from its nesting position, since the carton must be lifted upwardly for several inches before it becomes free of the carton in which it rests. Another drawback of this carton is that it does not make the most efficient use of the available space in that some of the carton""s storage capacity is taken up by the recessed bottom which provides the carton with its nesting ability. Thus, there is room for improvement in the art of carton design.
It is an object of the invention to supply a carton which may be produced at minium cost, that is reusable, and that possesses sufficient strength to be stackable, and to withstand the ususal handling to which food-stuffs are subjected during shipping. It is an object of the invention to provide a carton with sufficient strength to be stackable without the need for a cover or top. It is a further object of the invention to provide a carton that is not only suitable as a shipping container, but is also suitable as a display container in large warehouse type stores.
The present invention is a carton for shipping food-stuffs of the type typically sealed in plastic bags. The carton comprises a bottom wall, opposing front and back walls extending upwardly from the bottom wall, and opposing first and second side walls extending upwardly and sloping inwardly from the bottom wall and bridging the opposing front and back walls. The front wall includes a profiled upper edge forming a window adapted to accommodate a typical food-stuff package (about 4 inches by 6 inches) and to thereby allow the retrieval of the food-stuffs via the window. The front wall further includes a reinforcing flap.
The carton of the present invention is preferably stamped from a single piece of sturdy foldable material, such as heavy gauge corrugated cardboard. Each portion of the carton which is to be folded is preferably provided with a crease or fold line during the stamping process to ensure easy assembly. The folded portions of the carton are preferably held in place by means of locking tabs and slots. The carton may be assembled without additional materials, such as tape, or adhesives. The exterior of the walls of the carton may be marked with indicia to enhance the cartons attractiveness as a display. These and other features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the invention, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying exemplary drawings.